r ^ 

E 181 

.S753 
Copy 1 









SOCIETY OF YETERHNS 

— OF THE — 

REGULAR ARMY AND NAVY OF THE 
[^ UNITED STATES. 

emetic raf Ofj-'iceta awb '^tusl'ce^ for- 1888. 

ALEXANDER B. BUTTS, Commander-m-Chief. 
Headquarters, 99 Nassau St., N. Y. City. 

FRED. R. MERES .....Adjutaut-General 

HENRY W. SPOONER.... Quartermaster-General 

CHARLES HOLMAN Inspector-General 

ALEX. J. FARMER Commissary General 

HUBERT OBERLE Chief of Engineers 

FRANCIS MOON Chief of Ordnance 

HIRAM J. PENROD Surgeon General 

CHARLES WILSON Chief Signal Officer 

GEORGE J. JEFFREY. Judge Advocate General 

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by 

Alexander B. Butts, Commander-in-Chief, in the Office 

of the Tiibi'arian of Congress at Washington. 



El 81 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, 
Alexanders. Butts, Commander-in-Chief, in the OflBc- 
of the Librarian of Congress at "Washington. 



Oa^ -OO^OV^ 









-^HCertiflcate of Incorporation.^- 

State of New York, | 

City and County of New Yokk, ) ' 

I. Be it known that we, the undersigned, Alex- 
ander B. Butts, Fred. R. Meres, Hiram J, Penrod, 
Francis Moon, George D. McCarty, Edward R. 
Duffy, James J. McMahon, Charles Holman, James 
A. Nicholson, and Nicholas Tiedemann, who are of 
age, and citizens of the United States, and a major- 
ity of whom are citizens of the State of New York, 
by these presents, and pursuant to, and in conform- 
ity with, the act of the Legislature of the State of 
New York passed on the twelfth day of May, 1875, 
entitled an Act for the Incorporation of Societies 
and Clubs for certain lawful purposes, and known 
as Chapter 267 of the Laws of 1875, and the acts of 
the said Legislature amendatory thereof, and sup- 
plemental thereto, associate ourselves together and 
form a body politic and corporate under the name 
and style of the " Society of Veterans of the Regu- 
lar Army and Navy of the United States," which is 
the name or title by which such society shall be 
known in law. 

II. The particular business and object of s)ich 
society are to bring together and unite in .social fel- 
lowship and fraternal intercourse all persons of good 
moral character who have served in, and who have 



been honorably discharged from the Regular Army, 
Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States ; to 
provide for the support and maintenance of its 
members during illness ; to assist them in distress ; 
to secure their prof)er, orderly and decent interment 
in case of death, and to provide for such of their 
widows and orphans as shall be in needy and desti- 
tute circumstances ; to perpetuate the memory of 
the glorious and patriotic deeds of the Army and 
Navy of the United States ; to take part in public 
ceremonie^ and military displays, and to perform 
military drills ; to present to Congress or any of 
the departments or executive branches of the United 
States Government, or the Legislatures of any of 
the several States, the just claims of the members 
of the society to their gratitude or remuneration ; 
to inculcate and cherish a feeling of loyalty, integ- 
rity and obedience to the principles of the Constitu- 
tion and the laws of their country ; to assist its 
members in seeking and securing employment ; to 
provide for their general welfare and material ben- 
efit ; and for the foregoing business and object to 
collect from them, and other patriotic persons, a 
sufficient sum for such purposes, by assessment or 
voluntary contribution, and for the convenience of 
its members, and for the purpose of facilitating the 
carrying out of the business and object of the so- 
ciety ; to establish branches thereof, or, as they 



ma}'' be termed, commands, and to unite sucli coni- 
mands liifo' divisions, and to connect such divisions 
with tlic main iDodyof the society ; and to prescribe 
hiWiul rules and regulations for the admission and 
government of its members, and the transaction of 
its business. 

III. The number of trustees to manage the con- 
cern and affairs of said society shall be ten (10.) 

IV. The names of the trustees who shall manage 
the affairs and concerns of the said society for the 
tirst year of its existence are as follows : Alexander 
B. Butts, Fred. K. Meres, Francis Moon, George 
D. McCarthy, Edward R. Duffy, J. J. McMahon, 
iSricholas Tiedeniann, Charles Holman, Ilirani J. 
Penrod, M. I)., and James A. Kicholsoa. 

V. The princip.al office and place of business of 
the said society shall be in the C'ity and County of 
New York, which is located in the First Judicial 
District and First Department of the Stale of New 
York. 

VI. That the said society is formed for the pur- 
pose of carrying on some part of its business out of 
the State of New York, to wit : In the several 
States and Territories in the United States, and tlu- 
principal part of the business of said society within 
this State is to be transacted in the Cit}' and County 
of New York. 



In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed 
our names and set our seals, the 9th day of October, 
1885. 

Alexander B. Butts, 
Fred R. Meres, 
Hiram J. Penrod, M. D., 
Francis Moon, 
George D. McGarty, 
Edward R. Duffy, M. D., 
James J. McMahon, 
Chas. Holman, 
James A. Nicholson, 
Nicholas Tiedemann, 

State of New York, } ^ 

( -ity and County of New York, \ **' 

On this 9th day of October, 1885, before me per- 
sonally came and appeared Alexander B. Butts, 
Fred R. Meres, Francis Moon, George D. McCarty, 
Edward R. Duffy, J. J. McMahon, Nicholas Tiede- 
mann, Charles Holman, Hiram J. Penrod, M.D. and 
James A. Nicholson, to me known, and known to me 
to be the individuals described in, and who execu- 
ted, the foregoing instrument, and they severally 
acknowledged to me and before me that they execu- 
ted the same for the purposes therein mentioned. 

A. J. B. Miller, 

Notary Public (89) 
N. Y. County. 



State of New York, ) 

City and County of New York ) * 

I, Abraham R. Lawrence, a Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the State of New YorK, in and for the 
tirst Judicial District and First Department, wherein 
is located the principal office of the Society of Vet- 
erans of the Regular Army and Navy of the United 
States, do hereby consent to and approve of the in- 
corporation of said society and of its business and 
object. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed 
my name at the City of New York in the First 
Judicial District and-First Department, this 
12th day of October, 1885. 

Abraham R. Lawrence, 

Justice. 



State of New York, | 

Office of the Secretary op State, j" ' 

, I have compared the preceding with the original 
Certificate of Incorporation of Society of the Veter- 
ans of the Regular Army and Navy of the U. S. 
with acknowledgement" thereto annexed, filed and 
recorded in this office on the 13th day of October, 
1885, and do hereby certify the same to be a correct 
transcript therefrom and of the whole of the said 
oriifiual. 



Witness my hand and the seal of office of llie Secre- 
tary of State, at tlie City of Albany, this 13th 
day of October one thousand eight hundred 
and eighty-five. - 

Joseph B. GaWiV, 
'SeeV^tary of State. 

..l ll^ M» » » M * W : 



I in the presence of 

Almighty God, and these comrades assembled, do 
solemnly prornise that I will support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and bear true allegiance 
to the National Government ; that I will maintain 
and defend the sovereignty of the United States, 
paramount to any and all allegiance, sovereignty or 
fealty I may owe to any State, county or country 
whatsoever ; and that I will at all times obey the 
legal ofhcers, and the Constitution, laws, rules, reg- 
ulations and orders governing the Societ}'" of Vete- 
fans of the Regular Army and Navy of the United 
States and the By Laws of any Command of which 
I may be a member. 

I further promise that I will at all times, and to 
the best of my ability, observe and carry out the 
business and objects of said Society ; and this obli- 
gation I voluntarily assume and promise to fulfill, 
upon my honor as a man and a comrade. 



9 

-#HRul6S And Regulations.*^ 

1. The Supreme power of the Society of Veterans 
of the Regular Army and Navy of the United 
States shall be lodged in the Board of Trustees 
named in the charter. 

2. Vacancies in the Board of Trustees shall be 
filled by a majority vote of the remaining members 
of the Board, due notice of such contemplated ac- 
tion first having been given to each member in 
writing. 

3. All members of the Society of Veterans in 
good stsuding shall be eligible to membership in the 
Board of Trustees, and to fill the offices thereof. 

4. Members of the Board of Trustees, absent- 
ing themselves from four (4) consecutive' meetings 
of the Board, without furnishing satisfactory ex- 
cuse in writing, shall forfeit his membership in 
said body. 

5. The officers of the Society shall be a Comman- 
der-in-Chief, Adjutant General, Quartermaster- 
General, Inspector General, Commissary General of 
Subsistance, Chief of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance 
Surgeon General, Chief Signal Officer and Judge 
Advocate General. 

6. The Commander-in-Chief shall also be the 
President of the Society and of the Board of Trus- 
tees. The Adjutant General shall be Vice President 
and Secretary thereof, and the Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral shall be the Treasurer thereof. They shall be 



10 
elected by the Board of Trustees, from their own 
number, at their annual meeting held October 13, in 
each year and shall hold office until their successors 
are duly elected and installed. 

7. Vacancies occurring in the offices of the Board 
of Trustees or of the Society shall be filled by the 
Board of Trustees. 

8. The President and Commander-in-Chief shall 
enforce the Rules and Regulations of the Board of 
Trustees and of the Society, and for this purpose 
he may issue such orders as may be necessary. 

9. The President shall preside at the meetings of 
the Board of Trustees, decide all questions of law 
or usage, subject to an appeal to the Board, approve 
all requisitions properly drawn on the Quartermas- 
ter General, provided, however, that all requisitions 
shall first receive the sanction of the Board of Trus- 
tees. He shall appoint such additional staff officers 
and Aides- de- Camp as he may deem necessary to 
conduct the affairs of the Society, and assist him in 
his duties. He shall appoint all committees, and on 
proper application in writing, with the approval of 
the Board of Trustees, issue charters to commands. 

10. The Secretary and Adjutant General shall 
keep correct records of the proceedings of the Board 
of Trustees ; he shall conduct the correspondence 
and issue the necessary orders, under the direction 
of the Commander-in-Chief. He shall prepare all 
books and blanks required for the use of the Society 
and shall distribute the same under the direction of 



11 

the Commander-in-Chief. He shall draw all requ: 
sitions on the Quartermaster General upon the ap 
proval of the Commander-in-Chief after the consent 
of the Board of Trust e js has been obtained for the 
expenditures, and shall perform such other duties, 
and keep such other books and records as the Com- 
mander-in-Chief or Board of Trustees may reqinre 
of him. 

11. The Quartermaster General shall hold the 
funds, securities, and vouchers of the Society, and 
fill requisitions drawn upon him by the x\djutant 
General, with the consent of the Board of Trustees 
and the approval of the Commander-in-Chief. He 
shall give security for faithful discharge of his duties, 
to be approved b}'^ the Commander-in-Chief and 
Board of Trustee-s. 

12. Disbursements from the Treasury of the Board 
of Trustees shall only be in behalf of the objects of 
the Society. 

13. No debt shall be contracted in the name of th<' 
Society by any otHeer or member thereof v.ithout 
authority of the Board of Trustees. 

14. Any member of the Board of Trustees receiv- 
ing funds belonging to this Society shall at once 
pay the same into the hands of the Quartermaster 
General. 

15. The charter fee is fixed at five dollars, and no 
charter shall be issued to a Command until this 
money is paid into the hands of the Quartermaster 
General. 




LIBRARY 0L2SS 

16. Commands shall b ,p^^i capita tax not 

exceeding' fifty cents per annum on each and every 
member in good standing therein. 

17. The per capita tax shall be forwarded by 
Captains of Commands to the Quartermaster Gen- 
eral in quarterly installments on the first days of 
January, April, July and October. 

18. Members of the United States Mutual Benefit 
Association of the Society of Veterans of the Regu- 
lar Army and Navy of the United States are hereby 
constituted associate members of the Society of 
Veterans, and as such form a component part of 
this Society. 

19. The olficial badge of the Society of .V^eterans 
shall be of the following design, -viz : -A five 
pointed star with appropriate emblems of the ser- 
vice thereon, with the words " Society of Veterans" 
in the centre, suspended from an eagle resting on 
cross cannons, etc., and the Avhole suspended from 
a pin with the words U. S. Regular Army and Navy 
thereon. 

20. Any member of the Board of Trustees violat- 
ing these rules or any of them shall be expelled 
from the Board. 

Alexander B, Butts, 
President and Commander in Chief. 

Headquarters, 99 Nas.sau St., N. Y. City. 
[Official.] 

Fked R. Meres, 
Secretary and Adjutant (Tenernl, 



